For libraries using Dewey, there is an [http://www.oclc.org/dewey/versions/ddc22print/intro.pdf Introduction to Dewey Decimal Classification] available from OCLC whose first few pages are a useful summary of the history and use of the classification schedule. There is also an online [http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/tour/ multimedia tour of the DDC], which will be useful for another learning style. There are also [http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/Libskills/ numerous other websites, videos, and training modules] available for use with new staff or students.

Although it is generally not necessary to convert a library's classification from one actively maintain system to another--and both LC and Dewey are continuously updated to reflect current topics and publishing--it is also sometimes useful to have a road map from one to another.

"Dewey overdue for a makeover, librarians say", by Susan Demar Lafferty, Southtown Star, September 21, 2008. Discusses the switch to a categorized collection at the [http://www.frankfortlibrary.org/ Frankfort (IL.) Public Library.] See also [http://deweyfree.com/ Freeing Dewey,] the site describing their process and progress.

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[http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0530nodewey0530.html Gilbert (AZ) library to be first to drop Dewey Decimal] -- May 30, 2007 - By Yvonne Wingett, The Arizona Republic - May 30, 2007

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[http://www.nbc11news.com/regionalnews/headlines/47211537.html Adams library (CO) checks out new book filing system] - June 8, 2009 - Thornton, Colo. (AP) --- An Adams County Library District is dumping the Dewey Decimal Classification System for organizing its books in favor of one that is considered more user-friendly. Rangeview Library District spokeswoman Pam Sandlian Smith said the retail-based system called Wordthink encourages browsing and is more intuitive than the classification system developed by Melvil Dewey in the 1870s. The new system, which breaks down books into about 45 alphabetical categories, will be used at all six of the district's libraries and its outreach office by the end of the year. A spokeswoman at the American Library Association says the group doesn't keep statistics on how many libraries might be moving away from the Dewey System. (COPYRIGHT 2009 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

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[http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/9587679-418/library-reducing-travel-time-to-find-some-topics.html "Library reducing travel time to find some topics]" -- December 23, 2011 -- By Janelle Walker For The Courier-News (Elgin, IL)

"As a user of BISAC, I'm not sure this is an improvement. For example, BISAC has no codes for things like women's studies, or Latin American studies, and is completely useless for anything interdisciplinary. As it's a standard built for book commerce, it seems using it in a library is a bit of a misapplication. The needs of commerce are very different than the needs of a service oriented institution so for that reason the granularity of European History codes is pretty pathetic compared to the granularity available for books on Dieting or Christianity."

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posted by Toekneesan at 2:11 PM on June 8 (from [http://www.metafilter.com/82295/DONT-YOU-KNOW-THE-DEWEY-DECIMAL-SYSTEM metafilter's Don't You Know the Dewey Decimal System?])

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"Collocation is something that both LC and DDC tend to do well. Frankly I *hate* locating books in a retailer with their type of classification and nearly always ask for help when it isn't something simple like "go to fantasy section and find book." Every section is organized slightly differently - for example, in one section it may be shelved alpha by author, in another it may be alpha by subject (like in autobiographies). And like others have stated, how do you know exactly where a book should go unless you do use a numbering system to create an ordered library. It actually makes me think of a section of books in the library we're working on that holds books for kindergarten and first grade - it's nearly impossible for the kids to keep books in order, and kids that young don't really look for specific books and choose by cover. So the books are just marked with the first letter of the author's last name instead of a real call number, and it's really just a mix of all "M" books or "B" books - so if you asked me to find "Hop on Pop" by Seuss, it'll take a bit to flip through the "S" books if the spine is too small to show the title from the edge.

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So this gets to my next point, and that is the *real* issue in my eyes are kids these days aren't being taught classification systems like I was in school. I learned Dewey in elementary, and we actually had a library "class" where we learned and got tested on it, and not just library time where you go and pick out a book to check out and that's it. Then, in middle school, we had mini-fieldtrips to the small town's local college campus to learn Library of Congress classification, and again it was a classtime on learning it. Granted, I can't rattle off what each 100's section of Dewey corresponds to for topics...but I have a very good understanding on how it works and I know that if I want books on a certain topic, I know that all books within that call number range will be what I'm looking for. The kids that come into this school's library have no clue about Dewey or that there is in fact order to the shelving. There's even posters along the walls showing what each major Dewey subject is, and the kids still are like "Where are religion books?" or "Where are books on animals?" My wife has taken to not answering directly or walking them right to the section, but instead pointing to the posters and asking which one their topic fits into, then guiding them to the right shelf.

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To me, a strict classification like Dewey does facilitate browsing. If I'm in a retail bookstore and am looking for a book about origami, I don't give a shit about books regarding pencil drawing, or flower arranging, or other crafts. I'm there for origami. With Dewey, I get them right there next to each other in the 730's...and if I did care about other art/paper crafts, I can just look 10-20 call numbers in either direction. Plus, to me, a library primarily represents sources for research (especially in regards to non-fiction). Pleasure reading comes in a close second, but once you understand either Dewey or LoC, it's easy to find books."

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posted by JibberJabber at 3:51 PM on June 8 (from [http://www.metafilter.com/82295/DONT-YOU-KNOW-THE-DEWEY-DECIMAL-SYSTEM metafilter's Don't You Know the Dewey Decimal System?])

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====[[Talking Points]] (from the Public Information Office of ALA)====

Conversion Tables

Although it is generally not necessary to convert a library's classification from one actively maintain system to another--and both LC and Dewey are continuously updated to reflect current topics and publishing--it is also sometimes useful to have a road map from one to another.

Or, No classification?

Popular Press

"Dewey overdue for a makeover, librarians say", by Susan Demar Lafferty, Southtown Star, September 21, 2008. Discusses the switch to a categorized collection at the Frankfort (IL.) Public Library. See also Freeing Dewey, the site describing their process and progress.

Adams library (CO) checks out new book filing system - June 8, 2009 - Thornton, Colo. (AP) --- An Adams County Library District is dumping the Dewey Decimal Classification System for organizing its books in favor of one that is considered more user-friendly. Rangeview Library District spokeswoman Pam Sandlian Smith said the retail-based system called Wordthink encourages browsing and is more intuitive than the classification system developed by Melvil Dewey in the 1870s. The new system, which breaks down books into about 45 alphabetical categories, will be used at all six of the district's libraries and its outreach office by the end of the year. A spokeswoman at the American Library Association says the group doesn't keep statistics on how many libraries might be moving away from the Dewey System. (COPYRIGHT 2009 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

"As a user of BISAC, I'm not sure this is an improvement. For example, BISAC has no codes for things like women's studies, or Latin American studies, and is completely useless for anything interdisciplinary. As it's a standard built for book commerce, it seems using it in a library is a bit of a misapplication. The needs of commerce are very different than the needs of a service oriented institution so for that reason the granularity of European History codes is pretty pathetic compared to the granularity available for books on Dieting or Christianity."
posted by Toekneesan at 2:11 PM on June 8 (from metafilter's Don't You Know the Dewey Decimal System?)

"Collocation is something that both LC and DDC tend to do well. Frankly I *hate* locating books in a retailer with their type of classification and nearly always ask for help when it isn't something simple like "go to fantasy section and find book." Every section is organized slightly differently - for example, in one section it may be shelved alpha by author, in another it may be alpha by subject (like in autobiographies). And like others have stated, how do you know exactly where a book should go unless you do use a numbering system to create an ordered library. It actually makes me think of a section of books in the library we're working on that holds books for kindergarten and first grade - it's nearly impossible for the kids to keep books in order, and kids that young don't really look for specific books and choose by cover. So the books are just marked with the first letter of the author's last name instead of a real call number, and it's really just a mix of all "M" books or "B" books - so if you asked me to find "Hop on Pop" by Seuss, it'll take a bit to flip through the "S" books if the spine is too small to show the title from the edge.

So this gets to my next point, and that is the *real* issue in my eyes are kids these days aren't being taught classification systems like I was in school. I learned Dewey in elementary, and we actually had a library "class" where we learned and got tested on it, and not just library time where you go and pick out a book to check out and that's it. Then, in middle school, we had mini-fieldtrips to the small town's local college campus to learn Library of Congress classification, and again it was a classtime on learning it. Granted, I can't rattle off what each 100's section of Dewey corresponds to for topics...but I have a very good understanding on how it works and I know that if I want books on a certain topic, I know that all books within that call number range will be what I'm looking for. The kids that come into this school's library have no clue about Dewey or that there is in fact order to the shelving. There's even posters along the walls showing what each major Dewey subject is, and the kids still are like "Where are religion books?" or "Where are books on animals?" My wife has taken to not answering directly or walking them right to the section, but instead pointing to the posters and asking which one their topic fits into, then guiding them to the right shelf.

To me, a strict classification like Dewey does facilitate browsing. If I'm in a retail bookstore and am looking for a book about origami, I don't give a shit about books regarding pencil drawing, or flower arranging, or other crafts. I'm there for origami. With Dewey, I get them right there next to each other in the 730's...and if I did care about other art/paper crafts, I can just look 10-20 call numbers in either direction. Plus, to me, a library primarily represents sources for research (especially in regards to non-fiction). Pleasure reading comes in a close second, but once you understand either Dewey or LoC, it's easy to find books."
posted by JibberJabber at 3:51 PM on June 8 (from metafilter's Don't You Know the Dewey Decimal System?)